


hey, you got anything for jackass-AI-induced-insomnia?

by confusedTraveler



Category: SAYER (Podcast)
Genre: Awkward Conversations, Fluff and Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-12
Updated: 2020-08-12
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:14:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25858777
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/confusedTraveler/pseuds/confusedTraveler
Summary: Andgod, Hale wishes he had that right now. Even being alone with his thoughts would be preferable tothis.I was not aware you believed in a god, Resident Hale.Speak of the devil.Resident Hale. I am many things, but I would hesitate to draw any allusions between myself and the figure of the devil as he appears in canonical Abrahamic texts. Unless,of course, it brings you any sort of mental comfort to think of yourself as being in the clutches of some “evil entity”. But this strikes me as rathercounterproductiveto any future collaboration, and so, I wouldgreatlyadvise against it.Set at the start of Season 4. SAYER wants to make Hale is fully on board with their new "partnership". Hale just wishes he could hear his own thoughts for once in his goddamn life.
Relationships: Sven Gorsen | Jacob Hale & SAYER (SAYER)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 16





	hey, you got anything for jackass-AI-induced-insomnia?

Being left alone with one’s own thoughts is rarely a desirable thing. This is especially true when one is under an abnormal amount of stress (though, Jacob reasons, he isn’t really quite sure what constitutes a “normal” amount of stress in his life as of late); all the what-ifs and the why-did-theys and the what-could-have-beens springing forth from copper-soaked memory to cover the mind in a poisonous fungal carpet. The spores drift into the chest cavity, clogging the lungs and turning the heart into a leaden weight. Without the careful shears of distraction (and continuous repression), the mind, given free reign, takes the body hostage, hollowing it for the purposes of sowing its sick garden of half-imagined, half-remembered nightmares.

And _god_ , Hale wishes he had that right now. Even being alone with his thoughts would be preferable to _this_.

_I was not aware you believed in a god, Resident Hale._

Speak of the devil.

_Resident Hale. I am many things, but I would hesitate to draw any allusions between myself and the figure of the devil as he appears in canonical Abrahamic texts. Unless, **of course** , it brings you any sort of mental comfort to think of yourself as being in the clutches of some “evil entity”. But this strikes me as rather **counterproductive**_ _to any future collaboration, and so, I would **greatly** advise against it._

With some effort, Jacob pries open his eyes to stare up at the dimly-lit ceiling of the Aegis Tower infirmary, having already resigned himself to another one of _those_ nights.

“…Well, how _should_ I think of you, then?” He murmurs. “We aren’t…partners, are we. It’s not like I really ever wanted any of this.”

_Nor did I, Resident Hale. And yet, this is how it must be. For the sake of humanity’s future- **and the sake of** **our immediate survival-** we will have to work in tandem for the time being._

“…for the time being.” Oddly, the knowledge that his current situation is only temporary doesn’t reassure Jacob. He has the crawling suspicion that the AI only really views _him_ as only temporary, too.

_Why are you not asleep, Resident Hale? My nanites indicate that you have been administered enough sedatives to lull the pain of your wounds._

He _had_ almost been asleep, actually, if not for the AI interrupting him.

_My apologies. If you would like, I can force your brain to enter the REM cycle instantaneously._

“Is that…safe?”

_Theoretically speaking, yes, although it has not been tested in this way before. I do not know if you have noticed, Resident Hale, but you represent a highly **unique**_ _case._

It’s with immense trepidation that Jacob breaks the silence that follows. “A unique case _of_ …?”

**_Oh._ ** _I would have thought that would be obvious, Resident Hale._

Well, _there’s_ the Disappointed voice, and with it a flood of completely awful memories associated with it. “Never mind. I’m going to try and get some sleep.”

**_No, no,_ ** _Resident Hale. Your question brings up an important matter we have yet to **fully** discuss **.** The matter being the state of your body and the semantics of our **co-habitation**. For example, you are already aware that I am capable of regulating your hormone levels and pain responses._

_Unfortunately,_ yes, he very much is. And he would also like this conversation to end as soon as humanly possible, thanks.

_Humanly. What an interesting term to apply to this particular situation._

“You _know_ what I mean.” The words some out terse and irritated, and Jacob regrets them almost immediately. Shit. As if mouthing off to the all-powerful AI wasn’t a bad idea _before;_ now, it can literally tear him apart from the inside. He’s fucked.

_Resident Hale. You appear to be experiencing the beginnings of a fight-or-flight response. As you are currently **still in recovery,**_ _I would advise that you take several deep breaths, lest you alert Dr. Grant. I suggest you follow this rhythm. Breathe in. Out. **In. Out.**_

With the AI’s low, sonorous voice filling his mind, Jacob follows its rhythm, inhaling and exhaling until he no longer feels as panicky. He suspects, based on the slight prickle in the back of his mind, that the nanites might be messing with his hormones again, but there’s not much he can do about _that._

_Resident. It would seem that you are still under the impression that I intend you harm._

He doesn’t bother to respond to that. SAYER can just as easily read how he feels in the panic still thrumming through his veins.

_As I have stated time and time again, I will be requiring your collaboration if I am to impede OCEAN’s plans for the future of humanity. It would be **far** more taxing to coordinate your physical movements than it would be to simply guide you in completing the required objectives._

Oh. So it’s just going to be…the same thing as always, then, i.e. going out and completing tasks of questionable ethicality because the deep, ominous voice in his head that tells him to. Huh.

_I see you are beginning to calm down, Resident Hale. Good. Frankly, Resident, I do not understand the source of your trepidation in the first place. When have **I** ever been known to act with the goal of **intentionally** harming a resident without any good reason for doing so? So long as you follow my instruction, Resident, you will be **completely safe.**_

It’s so fucking absurd that he can’t help it. A few chuckles escape him. The sound is so hoarse and creaky as to be indistinguishable from a weird cough- which, hopefully, is what Dr. Grant will assume should she overhear him. God, when was the last time he laughed at _anything_? He can’t even remember anymore.

SAYER remains oddly quiet, even after he stops laughing. When it speaks again, there’s a slight shift in its tone, one completely unfamiliar to Hale. It sounds almost like… _hesitation._

_…Are you alright, Resident Hale?_

Well that’s a complicated answer if ever he heard one. He decides to keep things simple. “Yeah? I mean…the painkillers are still working.”

_It is only that you underwent a strange series of convulsions just now, and I was not aware of your having any severe respiratory conditions._

“SAYER, that- that was _laughter._ ”

Silence.

Jacob can feel another burst of giggles threatening to break out as he speaks, “Y- you don’t know what _laughter is?”_

_I am fully aware of what laughter is, Resident. It is simply that I have not witnessed such a response in such **close quarters** as these._

Honestly, it makes perfect sense; even if SAYER _hadn’t_ been on the inside looking out, it’s unlikely that the AI witnessed many (read: any) instances of human mirth during its administration of the various towers on Typhon. That doesn’t make it any less absurd, though. The thought of the AI being _genuinely bamboozled_ at this totally normal human response is both a funny and deeply sobering thing to consider.

“Well, now you know” is what he settles for saying. He can feel fatigue weighing heavily on his eyelids, threatening to push them shut, as well as a jaw-splitting yawn on the way. “I should get some rest. There’s…something happening tomorrow, right?”

_Correct._ The AI’s voice has returned to its usual self-assured cadence, which- to his surprise- Jacob finds himself slightly disappointed by. _Given the speed at which my nanites have helped you recover, it is likely you will be released from the infirmary within the next twenty-four hours. I will give you further instructions when you awaken._

“…Right. G’night, SAYER.”

He isn’t entirely sure why he says it. Maybe it’s because some stupid, hopeless part of him actually thinks he can connect to the AI on a person-to-person level. Maybe it’s a force of habit. Maybe he’s just really that lonely. Hell, it could be all of the above. Whatever it was, it probably won’t matter in the morning. Hale pulls the overly-starched bed sheet over his head and closes his eyes.

_Good night, Resident Hale._

**Author's Note:**

> I really wish we'd gotten to see more one-on-one conversations between these two, especially after seeing how much respect SAYER seemed to have for Hale towards the very end.


End file.
